Wednesday, November 9, 2016

With its numerous beautiful buildings in European style, Buenos Aires is unique on the American continent. The city was built with Paris in mind,when Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world, and this is very obvious.
Grandiose architecture,which is as beautiful as the best architecture from Europe, and which also creates a style of its own, is to be found everywhere. The central squares, Plaza de Mayo and Plaza Congreso, as well as the incredibly beautiful theatre building,Teatro Colon,are fine examples of this.
The city has 3 million inhabitants, Porteños (Buenos Aires' locals).

Below you will find a wide range of attractions that you can visit on your own in your free time in Buenos Aires.

Enjoy!

SAN TELMOSUNDAY ANTIQUES MARKET

The Feria de San Telmo (San Telmo Antiques Maket) is one of the most notable and popular events
The true Feria de San Telmo is in Plaza Dorrego, although, it spills out into the surrounding blocks making it almost impossible to see the entire fair in just one Sunday. Plaza Dorrego houses mostly antique booths where one can find any number of valuables. Some, like original matchbox cars, gramophones and old telephones, which are still fully functional, may fetch a more expensive price, but the authenticity and uniqueness of these antiques make it well worth the extra pesos.
that takes place in Buenos Aires. Nestled in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, the San Telmo Fair is bustling with unique artisans and antiques every Sunday from about 10am to 4pm (depending on the season and the weather). Perhaps its greatest qualities, besides the architecturally beautiful neighborhood which it calls home, are its exclusive goods and reliable nature. Never a Sunday will there be without tourists pouring into the cobblestone streets of San Telmo for one of a kind antiques, trinkets, art, tango and delicious food.

Many booths house truly one of a kind relics where a handmade backgammon board, full dinette sets and antique garments make you feel like you’re looking through your grandmother’s attic rather than a street fair. Antique knives, old jewelry and a myriad of figurines earn a spot in nearly every booth and soda siphons, artwork, mate trinkets and leather goods are in abundance. While the latter may begin to feel redundant all of these effects are an excellent example of Buenos Aires’ charming nature and rich history, and all of them deserve a spot on your shelf.

The Feria de San Telmo isn’t a time to speed shop, as walking too quickly through Plaza Dorrego may cause you to miss the very thing you’ve been looking for. Each booth ultimately has something different to offer and time well spent will turn up something to earn you “Ooohs and Ahhhs” the next time you have guests over.

Address: Plaza Dorrego, corner of Defensa & Humberto Primo,

PALERMO AREA

MALBA: Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires
The best museum and art gallery in the city showcases contemporary Latin American art, including a permanent collection of twentieth-century works by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Xul Solar, and Antonio Berni. The MALBA building itself is modern and beautiful, its limestone walls and glass ceilings drenched in sunlight on the inside and designed to be camouflaged amongst the square, concrete city blocks that surround it on the outside. The café has been somewhat of a revolving door of local chefs over the past few years, but is a nice place to linger for a coffee and afternoon pastry. A dynamic cultural center houses rotating exhibits of art and film.

There is no better place to explore the mystique, controversy, and legend that is Evita Perón, perhaps the most famous Argentine of all. This museum offers a thorough and quite personal study of the life of the former first lady, known for her charity work, her fashion and beauty, as well as her tragic death in 1952 at the age of 33. Paradoxically, given Perón's working class roots and populist politics, the museum is housed in an elegant building in one of the city’s most upscale neighborhoods. There is also a very popular café while the English-language audio tour is helpful.

Hours Tues-Sun 11am-7pm
Address: Lafinur 2988
Audio-system available. If your are a group of 5, you can make a reservation one week prior to your visit of English-speaking guide, which is highly recommended because the guides are sociologists and historians and they can answer all your questions.visitasguiadas@museoevita.org

JAPANESE GARDEN
Buenos Aires' Japanese Garden gracefully transports you to the Nation of the Rising Sun with its tranquil complex of gardens, cultural center, restaurant, tea house, bonsai greenhouse and gift shop. The Zen-like garden areas include beautiful plants like cherry blossom trees as well as stone statues, a red bridge and a network of footpaths over the lake. (You can feed the fish.) In the tea house you can observe the Japanese tea ceremony and drink green tea. Then in the restaurant, you can watch the sushi chefs prepare different dishes and enjoy the views of the garden and the water.

BOSQUES DE PALERMO (Palermo Forests)
As a green patch in the middle of concrete jungle, Bosques de Palermo occupy 25 acres of the neighborhood land filling of energy and optimism to those who choose to live moments of relaxation and entertainment nearby. Crowds daily enjoy the nature, artificial lakes, serenity and sports proposals in this corner of the City.

The Bosques de Palermo, distinguished by the creative imprint of the landscaper Carlos Thays, and gently caressed by clear waters, has the official name of Parque 3 de Febrero and gather in its length numerous attractions such as the Rosedal area graced by the Patio Andaluz, Glorieta, Puente Blanco and the wonderful Jardín de los Poetas, with busts of famous writers of all time and space.

Palermo Hollywood, like neighboring Palermo Soho, is part of the sub-barrio of Palermo Viejo.
Laidback by day, it springs to life at night when sharply-dressed Porteños come out to play at the hordes of bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The area itself sits between the streets Juan B. Justo, Córdoba, Dorrego and Santa Fé/Carranza.
Buenos Aires’ finest boutiques are here, from clothing stores and specialists in leather goods to bookstores and wine shops. What makes it all the more appealing is that the shops are expertly set in recycled houses, former warehouses and elegant old homes. Stroll along Jorge Luis Borges, Gurruchaga or Malabia streets and you’ll see what we mean.

Weekends are especially busy in the area when it seems that tourists and Porteños alike don their coolest attire and head to the open-air markets on Plaza Serrano and Plaza Armenia.

DOWN-TOWN

TEATRO COLÓN

The Teatro Colón, the Opera House of Buenos Aires was founded in 1908. This theater has one of the best acoustic qualities in the world. A cultural icon of Buenos Aires, this beautiful theatre is the biggest in the southern hemisphere. It was constructed during 1889 and 1908 by Vittorio Meano. It was inagurated with Guiseppe´s Verdi´s Aida. Third in size behind the opera houses of Paris and Vienna when inagurated, was voted as the best acoustics for opera before La Scala of Milan. Strauss, Toscanini, Stravinsky and Von Karajan conducted here, Callas, Caruso and Pavarotti sang here, as Nijinsky, Nureyev and Fontayne danced in this mecca of the arts.

Monday to Sunday, including holidays (except for May 1st, December 24th, 25th, 31st and January 1st).

SCHEDULE
From 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Starting every 15 minutes

Guided tours will be suspended between 10.00 AM and 1:30 PM whenever there are admission-free, 11.00 AM performances at the Teatro Colón.

If performances are scheduled for the afternoon (5.00 PM), the last guided tour will depart at 3.00 PM.

This is the oldest cafe in Buenos Aires.
The Cafe Tortoni epitomizes the "porteño café", but little is known about its origins. Just that a
French immigrant named Touan decided to open it at the end of 1858, and that the name was taken from an establishment on Boulevard des Italiens, where the elites of Parisian culture used to meet up.
The place was frequented by a group of painters, writers, journalists and musicians and scientists such as Benito Quinquela Martin, Federico García Lorca, Albert Einstein and Jorge Luis Borges, among others.

Address: Av. de Mayo 825

PALACIO BAROLO

The Barolo Palace references an homage to the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.
A unique architectural style with a mixture of neo-romanti, neo-Gothic , and even the dome with its unique Indian style Budanishar region representing the Tantric union between Dante and Beatriche , the protagonists of the Divine Comedy.

Luis Barolo, progressive and powerful farmer, came to Argentina in 1890. He was the first who brought cotton spinning machines and dedicated to the import of tissues. He installed the first combed wool spinning country and initiated the first crop of cotton in the Chaco.
On the centenary of the May Revolution, he met Arq. Mario Palanti (1885-1979), whom he hired for the project of a building he had in mind. This would become a property exclusively for rent. Luis Barolo thought, like all European installed in Argentina, that Europe would suffer numerous wars that destroy entire continent.
Desperate to preserve the ashes of the famous Dante Alighieri, he wanted to build a design inspired by the poet's work, "The Divine Comedy" building.
In 1919, this building became the highest in Latin America , and one of the world's tallest reinforced concrete.

La Casa Rosada (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkasa roˈsaða], English: The Pink House) is the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina. The palatial mansion is known officially as Casa de Gobierno, ("House of Government" or "Government House").
Sitting at the edge of Plaza de Mayo, the Casa Rosada is one of the most iconic buildings in Buenos Aires. With its pink façade and palace-like design, the governmental house has served as the backdrop to countless numbers of protests, famous speeches and significant moments in Argentina’s history. A stroll through the Casa Rosada offers visitors a peek into Argentina’s turbulent history and the wealth of the nation.
The presidential balcony is the highlight of the tour for many, as it’s a chance to take the stage where former presidents have given historic speeches, get a bird’s eye view of Plaza de Mayo and get a great picture to take home.

The tours are available in Spanish, English and Portuguese. They begin every 10 to 15 minutes and last about an hour.
Address: Balcarce 50
Free admission
Saturdays-Sundays and holidays from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm

Florida Street

Buenos Aires’ downtown thoroughfare Florida Street is the city’s most notable pedestrian area and an
enduring neutral ground for a diverse cross-section of humanity.

While pleasant for a nice stroll away from the rumbling Buenos Aires buses and home to quite a few architectural gems, it’s admittedly not one of the city’s most dazzling destinations.

On the weekdays, Florida is flooded with office workers and vendors selling everything from tango tours to leather goods on the fancier northern end of the mall and handmade jewelry and hair braiding on the southern side.

RECOLETA

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS
The museum has its origins in a marriage in 1897 between two prominent members of turn-of-the-century Argentine high society: Matías Errazúriz, the son of Chilean émigrés, and Josefina de Alvear, the granddaughter of Independence-era leader Carlos María de Alvear.

The couple commissioned French architect René Sergent in 1911 to design a mansion for Errazúriz's future retirement from the diplomatic corps, in which he had been Ambassador to France for a number of years. The ornate Neoclassical structure inspired the Bosch family to commission a similar palace nearby (today the United States Ambassador's residence). Completed in 1916, the couple devoted the following two years to decorating the palace, purchasing a large volume of antiques and other objets d'art.

When Mrs. Errazúriz died in 1935, however, the widower bequeathed the mansion to the Argentine government, on his son's and daughter's advice. The National Museum of Decorative Arts was established in 1937.

More in Recoleta on weekends: You will find tango dancers, musicians and other artists on the streets. We recommend visiting Recoleta Cultural Centre and the Fine Arts National Museum. Recoleta handicraft fair is the best in town.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The sleepy town of Moisés Ville, tucked away in a rural corner of Santa Fe Province, was once one of the country’s first and most important Jewish agricultural colonies.

Midday sits like a haze over Moisés Ville, Argentina – shop doors close, windows creak shut. There is not a motion outside save the pack of dogs that guard over Theodor Herzl Street. The library is shut today; it will likely stay shut tomorrow. The museum guide, a middle-aged woman whose children have since left the former Jewish colony for jobs in Buenos Aires and Rosario, is unsure where the librarian has gone, so she opens the building.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Los Glaciares National Park is located in the area known as Austral Andes in Argentina, in the south west of Santa Cruz Province on the border with Chile. By his magnificent natural beauty, it constitutes a wonder in the world, and was declared "World Heritage" by UNESCO in 1981.

This park shows a scenario of mountains, lakes and woods, including a large portion of the Andes practically under ice and snow to the west, and the arid Patagonian steppe to the east.

Its name refer to the glaciers that are born on the Ice Caps - the largest continental ice extension after Anctartica- which occupies almost half its area. Also known as Patagonic Continental Ice, creates 47 big glaciers, 13 of which flow to the Atlantic. There are also more than 200 smaller glaciers, unconnected to the Ice Caps.

Los Glaciares National Park is located in the area known as Austral Andes in Argentina, in the south west of Santa Cruz on the border with Chile.

All over the world glaciers are over 2500 mts over sea level, but here, in Santa Cruz, they are originated on the Ice Caps, at 1500 mts over sea level, and flow down to 200 mts, having the possibility of an unique approach and view.

As a result of the enormous pressure of the antique ice and the subsequent thaw, three big lakes, two of them inside the NP appeared: Lago Argentino and Lago Viedma, the waters of which flow as Rio Santa Cruz to the Atlantic Ocean crossing the province.

Tourist Activities
Nowadays, the Park welcomes a great number of tourists from all around the world, offering multiple choices to visit it almost all the year round.

Glaciar Perito Moreno
On the southern area of the Park, the most famous glacier can be seen: Perito Moreno. It is very famous because of its dynamic changes, which produces a cyclic phemomenon of forward and backward movement, with spectacular ice falls from its front walls. The closest town is El Calafate, center of all the activities and services.

Monte Fitz Roy
On the northern extreme of the park, the granite peaks, lakes, woods and glaciers become all together one of the most extraordinary places of the world. The highest mountains are Mt. Fitz Roy (3405m) and Mt. Torre (3102 m). In this scenario, the small village of El Chaltén, gives shelter to the climbers and trekkers of all around the world.

Flora
Approximately, 260,000 ha are covered with ice, and therefore with no vegetation, and about 95,000 ha of lakes. The woods cover about 79.000 ha, and the predominant species are lenga and guindo. The flora of Los Glaciares National Park belongs to the Magellan District, the most southern one.

Fauna
Except for birds, there is very few information about the different groups of vertebrates living in the Park. Most of consulted bibliography refer to the fauna without giving specific data about their presence in the Park. The information you will find in this section comes from rangers reports and ground observations made by Patagonia Regional Delegacy when preparing the Park’s Handling Plan.

In the month of August, hundreds of dancers from around the globe are challenged to a poetic duel of embraces, steps and cadences, before a jury of prestigious tango masters who will determine which two dancing couples are the most skilled of the milonga. Gone are the Preliminaries held in more than twenty cities across the world; now it is time to attend the Qualifying Rounds at Usina del Arte, where more than 500 couples of different nationalities will pit their talent to get a chance to dance at the legendary Luna Park and battle for the world title in Dance-Floor Tango and Stage Tango.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Iguazú National Park jungle roads lead to a unique site in the world: where birds sing to the beauty of the landscape and nature vibrates with the thunder of the water

Iguazú National Park is located in the northwest of the province of Misiones, at 11 miles from Puerto Iguazú. Its preserved ecosystem belongs to the Paraná Jungle eco region that covers almost all the provincial territory. The natural treasure being hosted are the Iguazú Waterfalls: 275 waterfalls that reach an altitude of almost 260 feet. They were declared one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature in the World and, also, Mankind Natural Heritage.

The visit to Iguazú National Park requires, at least, a complete day. Among the recreational proposals, it is worth mentioning: the Yvirá Retá Interpretation Center, the Lower Walk (4,600 ft of walkways with stairs); the Upper Walk (4,200 ft of walkways without stairs); the crossing to San Martín Island; and Macuco and Yacaratiá Pathways. There are alternative tours to discover the Park and get close to the Waterfalls by means of full of adrenaline activities.

One of the newest proposals consists in enjoying the Waterfalls under the moonlight, during full moon clear nights. Visitors only need to go to the Park at sunset, take the little train that crosses the jungle and get into the dark. The silence is only interrupted by the sounds of night animals: a new world awakes at the depth of the jungle. When getting off the train, it is necessary to take the same pathway that reaches the Devil’s Throat: in the evenings it is more mysterious and even more charming. The roar of the jungle increases step by step. And, finally, the Devil’s Throat amazes and moves evening visitors. Illuminated by a giant and silver moon, it is even more breathtaking. A unique landscape and an unforgettable experience.

IMPORTANT: Iguazú National Park provides varied services to tourists. Among them, a 5 stars hotel, restaurants, fast food stores and drugstores. Architectonic barriers were eliminated thus generating a proposal available for everyone. Due to the Park’s extension, if visitors want to make the visit in two days, they should keep the entrance ticket and present it the second day and they will get a 50% discount.

Puerto Iguazú is a city with varied accommodation and tourist services, as well as regular bus services to the Park during the whole day.

Angela Orosz-Richt was born in Auschwitz in December 1944, weighing less than 1 kg. She was too weak to cry. Last week, she flew from Montreal to Poland for the visit of Pope Francis. On Sunday, the Pope received her in private audience. Angela was accompanied by a Hungarian filmmaker couple and their son, who are making a documentary about her.

After their meeting with Pope Francis, she told us this: ‘When we came in, the Pope said: Please pray for me! And with a smile, he suggested: Let's take a selfie! And so we did. I thanked him for his silent visit to Auschwitz. He taught the world how to visit that place. I was born in Auschwitz, and my mother's heroism and faith saved my life, with God’s miracles. I presented him with a picture of my late mother and me as a young girl, and a teddy bear in Canadian Mounty uniform. I still can’t believe that a little old Jewish lady like myself got to meet with the Pope.”